Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Warsaw's "playground version of demolition derby" went off with numerous bangs Wednesday night as the Bowen Center hosted its first annual dodgeball tournament fundraiser with all profits to the Kosciusko County United Way.
After a fierce battle with Biomet in the Harrison Elementary School gymnasium, the YMCA team won the county's dodgeball bragging rights after receptionist Nancy Boston knocked out the last of the evening's competition.
"That might have been my only hit of the night, but it came at a good time," Boston said. "Our team had so much fun. What a great way to make money for a good organization."
YMCA team captain Jon Hoover said he was pleased with his team's efforts and enjoyed the friendly competition of the tournament.
Hoover, Boston, Anthony Sanson, Laura Karns, Tonya Welsh, Deon Dittmar, Chris Pettit and Ryan Rollefson won the tournament's dodgeball trophy, which is now displayed in the YMCA's lobby for all to see.
"There will be many more of those to come," Hoover said with a smile. "I think all the teams saw we had three girls on our team and thought we'd be an easy out. It was fun to prove them wrong."
Tim Nussbaum, Bowen Center's corporate service director, reported more than $1,500 was raised during the night through admission charges, team fees, special events and concessions. Close to 600 people attended the event, a number Nussbaum did not quite expect.
"We went with an idea to get some good exposure for the United Way, and the community really rallied around the event and made it quite a success."
Nussbaum thanked his co-workers Jenny Kessler, who ran the concessions booth, and Mark Gypson, who dressed as Orby the Dog and also ran the music/sounds effects.
A special event in which attendants paid to throw dodgeballs at Orby left Gypson a bit stunned.
"I was hit in the head with a dodgeball that was shot out of a giant slingshot," Gypson said. "It rattled around the helmet for awhile. Not that I was hurt, but it really caught me off guard."
Biomet's team, after knocking out their rival Zimmer in the first round, played well throughout the tournament until the final game.
"What game impressed me the most was the Biomet/Zimmer game," Nussbaum said. "Those guys were all pumped up and put on a great show."
During the first round game, Nick Missos, of the Biomet team, found himself left to deal with four Zimmer competitors after all his teammates were knocked out.
In a clutch effort to help his team advance, Missos knocked out Zimmer players one-by-one and made an impressive catch to end the game, leaving Zimmer shell-shocked and eliminated.
Though the Biomet team failed to win the tournament, their second-place ranking and show-stopping victory over Zimmer placed them among the dodgeball elite.
As of 10 a.m. today, Biomet stock increased 29 cents on the day. Whether or not this increase is a result of last night can not be determined.
No injuries were reported throughout the tournament, though the audience saw a large amount of wildly thrown balls shot into the stands. Dave Hurt, a player on the Kosciusko Community Hospital team, was honored with the "Biggest Hit Award" after taking a hard pelt to the head during a game against REMC. Hurt was taken to the hospital Wednesday night, but merely for work-related matters.
"I took one for the team," Hurt, who painted his head for the event, said. "It hit, I shook it off and just wondered if any of the make-up came off."
The award for "Best Dressed Team" went to the Times Union, which fell to the City of Warsaw in a lop-sided first-round match.
So is there a future for Kosciusko dodgeball?
"We took a pulse last night, and the pulse was good," Nussbaum said. "The heartbeat is strong in this community for dodgeball."
The YMCA also plans to begin a dodgeball league this fall.
"This whole event was a team effort," Nussbaum said. "From the referees, Craig Allebach and Chad Zartman, to our hired guns, Mike Whitaker and Caleb Gilmer, I want to thank everyone for coming out and having fun with us"
The tournament ended at 8:30 p.m., and the Bowen Center closed up the gymnasium after cleaning up the battle scars left from the tournament.
"There were scuff marks everywhere," Gypson said. "I mean everywhere."
